Rachana Reddy and Marri Aditya Reddy speak to the press persons in Hyderabad on Sunday

Hyderabad: The Praja Kutami – an alliance of Congress, Telugu Desam,CPI and Telangana Jana Sabha, is not an alternative to the ruling Telangna Rashtra Samiti (TRS) as its selection of candidates in the ensuing polls was based on ‘sale of tickets to parachuted candidates’, two Telangana Jana Sabha (TJS) leaders, who quit the party, argued at a press conference here on Sunday.

The banner of revolt raised by advocate Rachana Reddy and Marri Aditya Reddy, came as a shock to the alliance which stepped up propaganda that it was a viable alternative to the ruling TRS. Rachana Reddy, an advocate practising in Hyderabad High Court had filed many cases against the irrigation projects in the State, while Aditya Reddy is the son of Marri Sashidhar Reddy, a senior Congress leader who was denied Sanathnagar ticket by his party.

Rachana Reddy and Aditya Reddy announced that they quit the TJS and sought an explanation from the TJS founder president Prof. Kodandaram as to “what he had done for the people from 2014, apart from addressing press conferences to criticise the ruling party”. Prof Kodandaram took credit for the work of other persons always. It would be inappropriate to criticise others without doing anything for the cause of Telangana, they argued.

Levelling serious charges of corruption in allotment of tickets, they alleged that the Kutami gave tickets to ‘parachuted leaders’, a euphemism for the dark horses who get nomnated owing to money power or influence, despite the AICC president Rahul Gandhi opposing nominating such leaders. They said Kodandaram had earlier approached the BJP seeking 40 seats. Later he joined hands with the Congress, which was a ‘blunder’. Accusing Prof Kodandaram as a malleable person, they said he did not raise any objection in Kutami when only upper castes were being given tickets.